For over two decades, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) has advanced a focused and highly influential strategy: identifying genes linked to autism and using those genetic variants across diverse experimental models to illuminate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying autism. This strategy took shape in 2003, when Jim and Marilyn Simons convened a roundtable of leading scientists to guide their initial investment in the field. The group recognized that, given autism’s high heritability and the rapid maturation of gene-discovery technologies, mapping its genetic architecture offered a uniquely promising path forward.
Building on a Proven Foundation
That conviction has guided much of SFARI’s grantmaking ever since — and the results have been remarkable. Hundreds of genetic variants contributing to autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) have been identified, providing both a foundation for the development of gene therapies and powerful entry points for basic science aimed at understanding autism biology. The 2003 roundtable also stressed the importance of drawing new talent into the field, and here too SFARI has succeeded, recruiting outstanding human geneticists and neuroscientists to autism research.
Ultimately, we hope the New Ideas request for applications (RFA) will serve a role similar to that original 2003 roundtable — identifying scientists and projects that will ask bold new questions, surfacing the approaches most likely to transform our understanding of autism and laying the groundwork for additional targeted RFAs that can move those directions forward at scale.
Why a New Ideas RFA Now
The New Ideas RFA invites fresh perspectives, new hypotheses and bold approaches that reach beyond established paths, with the goal of accelerating discovery in new and unexpected directions. Just as gene-discovery tools transformed the field in the early 2000s, a new generation of scientific methods — spanning cell biology, genetics, systems neuroscience, cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, computational neuroscience, computational psychiatry and beyond — along with emerging theoretical frameworks for understanding brain and behavior now promise equally transformative insights into autism’s underlying mechanisms.
How the RFA Works
The New Ideas RFA is also designed to keep SFARI in continuous dialogue with the broader scientific community. To that end, the RFA will accept short Letters of Intent (LOIs) on a rolling basis. These are reviewed on a routine basis by the SFARI science team, and a selected subset are invited to submit a full proposal for external review. We aim for a prompt turnaround of approximately four to eight months from LOI submission to funding decision.
What We’re Looking For
New approaches not previously supported by SFARI. The New Ideas RFA is expressly for innovative new research directions that fall outside the scope of previously funded SFARI projects (see past and currently funded projects) and does not simply represent next steps in the direction of previously funded work. This RFA will support high-risk, high-reward research with transformative potential. We especially encourage scientists who have not previously received SFARI support to apply.
Basic science grounded in autism biology. Consistent with SFARI’s mission, we fund research aimed at understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying autism and related NDDs. We prioritize basic science for three reasons: We believe it builds the rigorous knowledge base that translational work depends on; it aligns with the Simons Foundation’s broader commitment to advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences; and it allows SFARI to occupy a distinct and complementary niche among autism research funders. We welcome both human subject studies and research in other experimental systems or models.
A clear and explicit case for relevance. In addition to scientific quality and rigor, proposals are evaluated on how clearly they articulate their relevance to autism and related NDDs. We encourage applicants to familiarize themselves with the current landscape of autism research and to state explicitly — in their LOI — how and why their proposed research will yield meaningful new insights and have the potential to be transformative in terms of our understanding of autism and related NDDs.
Other Funding Opportunities
SFARI will continue to issue both targeted and more open calls in genomics, neuroscience, and phenotyping, consistent with our mission. We continue to welcome applications not directly aligned with the New Ideas RFA through those future funding mechanisms.
Sign up for the SFARI newsletter to receive updates on funding opportunities, and visit SFARI.org for additional information on SFARI, including its robust set of resources.
